When asked by Lusa about the conditions that teachers at these schools consider "absolutely essential" to survive the cost of living in the countries where they work, the Portuguese Ministry of Education, Science and Innovation said that it has analyzed "the situation in the different countries, with a view to adapting working conditions to the geographical location of each school, in order to guarantee equity between teachers in the different schools".
For the Portuguese Government, EPEs are "one of the most important instruments of State cooperation and are fundamental to promoting the teaching and dissemination of the Portuguese language and culture".
In an open letter to the Portuguese Minister of Education, teachers from the School Frameworks in EPE requested measures that they consider "absolutely essential" to survive the cost of living in the countries where they work.
The signatories are requesting that additional contractual conditions be granted to teachers on the staff of these schools, particularly "the inclusion of at least one annual round trip to Portugal for the teacher and their family members, in order to maintain family and cultural ties" and a "cost of living allowance, equal to that of teachers on statutory mobility", which they say is "a fair and regular amount to compensate for the high cost of living" and rising inflation.
Health and work accident insurance and exemption from monthly fees are also demands of these teachers, as well as registration with the Social Security Institute, retroactive to the beginning of the link with the Portuguese State.
Teachers also want to register with the public servant health subsystem (ADSE).
When asked about the government's response to these demands, the Portuguese Ministry of Education did not respond, thanking "the effort and commitment of these teachers in the educational projects of these educational establishments, despite the difficult conditions they currently face".
On Friday, a two-day strike by teachers at Portuguese schools in Timor-Leste, Mozambique, Angola and São Tomé and Príncipe, called by the Union of All Education Professionals (S.TO.P), ended.
With this protest, which according to the union had "almost total support", the teachers are demanding "equitable working conditions among teachers".
Contract teachers and those working at Portuguese Schools Abroad face "worse working conditions than their colleagues in Portugal and their school colleagues who are on statutory mobility", the union pointed out.
